The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of hybrid Baptisia plant, botanically known as Baptisia ‘Dark Chocolate’ and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, ‘Dark Chocolate’. The new cultivar represents a new false indigo, a hardy herbaceous perennial grown for landscape and cut flower use.
The new invention arose from an ongoing breeding program of the inventor at a nursery in Waseca, Minn. with continued evaluation at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich. with the specific intention of improving garden worthiness of perennial false indigo plants with a wider variety of flower colors and improved garden habit.
Baptisia ‘Dark Chocolate’ was a single seedling selection from a cross from a pollination of a proprietary unreleased hybrid of B. sphaerocarpa x B. alba ‘Yellow Hornet’ (not patented) as the female or seed parent, and the male parent is a Baptisia minor selection (not patented).
Seeds were collected from the individual selected female plant in October of 2009 at the isolation block in Waseca, Minn., USA by the inventor. The seeds were sown by the inventor at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich. in the fall of 2009 and the initial selection made in the spring of 2014 at the same nursery. Prior to being given the cultivar name ‘Dark Chocolate’ the new plant was assigned the breeder code of H9-10-02.
‘Dark Chocolate’ was initially asexually propagated by stem cuttings at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich. in June of 2014. The resultant plants have demonstrated that the new plant remains stable and true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation.
The nearest comparison plants known to the inventor are ‘Dutch Chocolate’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,872 and ‘Brownie Points’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 26,624. ‘Dutch Chocolate’ has a fuller rounder habit with fewer branches per stems that are more spreading and less upright, and the flower spikes are much shorter. The flowers of ‘Dutch Chocolate’ are similar in color, but are smaller and more concealed in the foliage and effective for a shorter period. ‘Brownie Points’ is taller and broader in habit and the flowers open to a lighter, more butterscotch-colored and not as deeply-colored chocolatey-purple as the new plant and the flower spikes are much shorter. The female parent has yellow flowers on long spikes and the habit is vase-shaped. The male parent has violet-blue flowers on shorter spikes and the foliage is smaller.
The ‘Dark Chocolate’ differs from all Baptisia known to the inventor in the following combined traits:                1. Chocolate purple flowers on very long spikes.        2. Flowers maintain their chocolatey purple coloration from bud to anthesis.        3. Short, mounded, multi-stemmed, upright, winter-hardy habit.        4. Glaucous, medium-green, tri-foliate foliage.        